Integrated Writing Instruction and the Development of Revision Skills

Abstract

Research on writing instruction in the elementary grades is reviewed, based on findings from classroom investigations of multifaceted programs and from experimental studies of factors affecting the acquisition of revision skills. The principles underlying an integrated sociocognitive (IS) approach to writing instruction are presented, as are the results of a year-long field study in 20 classes comparing this approach to a componential skills (CS) approach. The results of this study show significant but modest effects of the IS approach on students’ ability to revise narrative text in second and sixth grades. Analysis of developmental trends between the two grades shows several important changes in students’ revision skills, namely an increase in revisions affecting text organization and semantics, as well as increased concern for grammatical rather than lexical aspects of spelling. Very substantial interindividual variation is found, however, in each grade. The findings are discussed in relationship to other studies of writing instruction and revision.